The Perfect Summer Road Trip: A Wyoming Fly Fishing Adventure

A scent so strong and a green so rich, my heart aches when the mind wanders back to these sage brush seas. Cattle roam free in the indigo evenings, while night birds share their words until mornings light. Gravel pops run endless where the folks tread few. And they say to carry a clean cast by your side, if you hope to seek a sweet kiss from those below. Now.. If I were you, I’d never trust the silver whispers of romantic memories, that is unless you are talking about the cowboy state.. For most folks out there, they really put the why in Wyoming, but for the anglers that know.. you know..
Spread far and wide with an impulse to get isolated.. time and space has painted the charismatic Clarkii into many different shapes and quite a few sizes. To me, the slow motion sip of a lazy cutthroat is the starring role in any broadway production of summer here in the mountain west. Sure the sweet symphony of the meadow song birds is important, and the smell of warm pine swirling with the sage is sure to intoxicate your recollections. But without that neon slash and spots numbered like the stars, these precious dog days just wouldn’t be the same to me.
“In 1996 Wyoming Game and Fish introduced the Native Cutthroat Slam. The hopes were to connect more anglers with the native fish that swim in the states diverse waters.”
Untold numbers of passionate fisherfolk have embarked on this odyssey AND it was time for us to do the same. With summer finally here, there was no better way to cash in on these late sunsets than with a region spanning road trip across the cowboy state with the four main native cutthroat species leading the way.
Nicholas Westin (He ties really good flies)
IG: / westin_ties_flies
Stimi Recipe
-Choice of thread and wire
-Fire hole 718 or equivalent
-Nature’s spirit Stimulator deer hair
-CDC Puffs
-Hackles that’s a hook gap wide
-Coarse, airy dubbing (I like vicuña alpaca)
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[@how_nate_rolls4603]

“It’s not ours. It’s just our turn”. Love it. Yes, I about crapped my pants when you mentioned Wiggins by name lol. I know that first specific spot verrry well. Missed you by two weeks. But I listened to your explanation at the end and you certainly make sense. Well said.

[@FLYALLSZN]

I’m just so happy you made it all the way to the end to even give me a chance to explain my position. Means a lot.

[@axelschug3451]

I missed you guys by 3 days! Thanks for leaving me a few fish 😂. And yes that last road sucks! No worries on “spot burning” cuz you really have to want it to go to these places. PS where is Dixie’s? 🤤

[@FLYALLSZN]

Just three days?! That’s so funny! It’s in Idaho falls! Worth a stop

[@TheMegachocho]

Honey!! Fly all season posted again!

[@FLYALLSZN]

Yes!!

[@ryanbeebout7676]

But you run and you run To catch up with the sun But it’s sinking. Racing around To come up behind you again. The sun is the same in a relative way But your older. Shorter of breath and one day closer To death. -Roger Waters

[@seannnfranco]

youre a great guy mike. love how you talk about fish. I always feel the same, I appreciate you for covering this beautiful state in a way that doesnt destroy its presence in nature, and for informing people about different species and native and nonnative fish, youve done alot for me and flyfishing, and im sure youve done just as much for many others! thanks for making these gorgeous videos that I lose myself in (:

[@JhonIgnacioGarzajr]

Welcome Back! This is awesome!!

[@FLYALLSZN]

Howdy, thanks!

[@AmericaBadger24]

My dad loves watching your videos

[@ZachWeisman-z7t]

I live in Jackson Hole, and yeah you gotta go as far away from the town as possible to find good fish but man it's a cool spot. My biggest cutty ever was in the fall on the Snake River guy was like 22 inches. Loved the vid though keep it up!

[@FLYALLSZN]

Thank you so much!!

[@JoshJagdfeld-z7l]

Epic video as always, Mike. Watched from beginning to end! I had the fortune of fishing the Blackfoot and catching some cutties this Summer with my teenage son - admittedly not the Wyoming fishing here, but great, nonetheless! Keep up the amazing work. Many of us are here for it!

[@FLYALLSZN]

Absolutely love to hear that! Can do!

[@Personalfinance_10174]

Great content!! Your videos stand out on utube, well done!! Have u guys ever hit the Green River, like say in Seedskadee NWR? That is a really interesting area but the fishing can be tough...would love to get ur take on it as a wading angler.

[@FLYALLSZN]

Not yet! Might need to look into it

[@timkern177]

It's good to see some familiar waters again.

[@FLYALLSZN]

Back in the cowboy state!

[@georgedanek7090]

Oh man your video makes me want to get back out to Wyoming. Great stuff! Also, what gum are you always chomping on?

[@FLYALLSZN]

Thank you! I don’t remember! Probably whatever I could get my hands on at the time

[@koosticdead]

I need a fishing buddy like yall !

[@FLYALLSZN]

For sure!

[@AmericaBadger24]

Your so cool

[@kylekeinath6702]

I just got back from the stream you got your Yellowstone cutthroat on. Wish I could post photos to this but easily best fishing day of my life. 15 to 18 inches out of every hole, riffle. Fish that had no sign of previous angeling which is nice.

[@FLYALLSZN]

I love to hear that!

[@kylekeinath6702]

@@FLYALLSZN originally was going to fish the Soda Fork and north branch of the Buffalo but the Fish creek fire put a kibosh to that.

[@brysonschaugaard601]

Very pumped up man!!

[@nickwestin8444]

I already miss my net

[@FLYALLSZN]

RIP

[@foragefarmer1300]

I found out about the first river from a friend who had been going out to elk hunt that unit every year for at that point 5-10 years and told me about the fishing he did after tagging out. Well a state record elk got harvested in that unit and getting a tag went from easy to hard overnight. He finally got another tag this year after trying for 5-6 years. Wyoming posts the success ratio for all their units. All the information was there but it took someone killing a state record to put it on the map. I will say that you are not the first, the damage was done when a much larger channel outed the entire drainage with their "big fish adventure". I personally witnessed the before and after of the specific spot you fished and it is a shadow of its former self.

[@FLYALLSZN]

You’ve fished all 20+ miles of the Wiggins fork and have seen a total collapse of the Yellowstone cutthroat population? They seemed to be quite healthy in the very small section we fished.

[@foragefarmer1300]

@@FLYALLSZN That is not at all what i said and you know it. Pathetic attempt at deflection. Good day sir.

[@zachcragoe]

@@foragefarmer1300 success ratio means nothing on G&F Website. The residents who kill big bulls in these units keep their mouth shut and don’t respond to the surveys.

[@FlyFishingTexas]

Fantastic Video!!!

[@FLYALLSZN]

Thank you very much!

[@chantheman8443]

Off topic question, but where did you get that purple cord hat with a feather on it in your driftless video?

[@jacobrandall6070]

Another unreal video. Mike is the man

[@FLYALLSZN]

Thank you!!

[@scottrick5190]

Great vid Mike, one of your best…thanks.

[@garrettweston767]

Shout out Clay Newcomb!

[@FLYALLSZN]

Bear grease crew is really doing good stuff!

[@seannnfranco]

oh man was I excited for this video!! LOVE IT man

[@ryderpelley7886]

Awesome! Love your videos!!

[@FLYALLSZN]

Thank you so much!!

[@Kageal]

Great video man!

[@FLYALLSZN]

Appreciate it!

[@chantheman8443]

Excited! Also weird question: where did you get that purple corded hat in your driftless video?

[@cpeterson1131]

Awesome video bro

[@FLYALLSZN]

Glad you liked it!

[@zachcragoe]

Let’s goooooo!

[@FLYALLSZN]

YES

[@lizzybachman5491]

You don’t live here, so you don’t see the damage it does to mention places like the last one by name, especially to this large of an audience. These special places change so much once people find them. I’m absolutely all for people discovering them on their own, but not everyone who goes there will respect the water and its surroundings the way you do. When you see these places year after year, you see the fishery degrade from increased human influence. I guess I can just hope that everyone who watches this and ends up in these places treats them well. There’s a difference between “gatekeeping” and doing your part to protect one of the most special creeks many of us here locally have ever had the honor to step foot in.

[@FLYALLSZN]

I explain my stance on this a bit later on in the video, and we may just have different ways of looking at it. All the information is out there no matter how special the creek is. Anecdotal evidence is certainly important but hard data shows much more. That’s why the various conservation organizations exist. They determine whether or not a place is “trashed” and need tighter regulations. Hopefully if more people know then more people care. Giving value to these special fish is the only reason they still exist today.

[@lizzybachman5491]

@@FLYALLSZN I saw the whole thing, and I do understand that people knowing about these fish is why they’re protected. There are plenty of folks (like y’all) who care for these resources but the ones who don’t make huge impacts on these places that they will never see because they’re just passing through. There are many places here that need tighter regs (greys and salt for example) but nothing changes year after year despite the traffic majorly increasing & the quality of fishing (and fish) decreasing. It’s such a fine line between helping and hurting when you give people instant, easy access to knowledge about these places. In our lifetime, despite conservation efforts, we will never see the Salt or Greys the way they were before people realized the fishing was amazing in those places, because too many people treated them poorly too quickly without thinking about the consequences. The visitation, pressure, traffic, and everything else that comes along with these fast growing mountain towns does damage too quickly for anyone to catch up with before it’s too late. Just something to think about from someone who recreates on these rivers and creeks daily, has seen firsthand, and has heard years worth of stories from old guys about how much things have changed with the growth of the internet and the fishing community online. No one can stop people from finding these places, and that’s completely opposite of the goal. But there’s zero denying how much the increased pressure has changed these fisheries, and I think it’s up to us to be aware of our role in that. I’ll step off my own soapbox now, just some food for thought from someone with a different perspective. We can and should do better to protect these tiny creeks that can’t take years of increased pressure the way other places can, or future generations will never know them the way we know them now.

[@FLYALLSZN]

Nothing wrong with a different perspective.